Tooth-brush.



No. 759,490. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904. J. A. YATES.

TOOTH BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. s, 1902.

.H0 MODEL.

Witnesses: J72 ve 7175-0 71' MM 5mm W W14. flw omiwm a cittorney Patented May 10, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. YATES, OF ROCKPORT, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE FLORENCE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

TOOTH-BRUSH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,49Q, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed December 8, 1902. Serial No. 134,238. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A.YATES, of Rockport, in the county of Spencer and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful 5 Improvements in Tooth-Brushes, of which the following is a specification.

Tooth-brushes as at present constructed, so far as known to me, are provided with a back and handle formed from substantially rigid I materialsuch as bone, wood, and the like. The use of brushes thus constructed is believed in frequentcases to produce injury to the teeth and gums by reason of the rigidity of the brush. The fact that the force which is em- I 5 ployed in brushing the teeth is by these brushes transmitted to the teeth and gums renders it desirable and in many cases necessary to employ a considerable degree of care in the use of the brush.

2 My invention has for its object to provide a brush which shall possess rigidity enough to permit of the proper application of the brush to the teeth to clean the same, while at the same time permitting the brush proper or bristle portion thereof to yield relatively to the handle when an undue or unnecessary degree of force is applied, thereby reducing the-clanger of injury to the teeth or gums and avoid ing the objections above mentioned to the rigid 3 non-yielding brushes which are now in use.

The invention is fully set forth in the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof'are pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specilication.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a toothbrush embodying my invention, the dotted lines indicating positions which the handle of 4 the brush may be caused to assume by bending the neck or portion between the neck and handle of the brush. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the neck of yielding material and a resilient reinforcing-strip,which is hereinafter referred to and which is shown in dotted lines. Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views showing modifications hereinafter referred to. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5, Fig. 2.

Having reference to the drawings, 1 designates what I shall term the back of the 5 brush, being that part thereof in which the bristles are set.

2 is the neck, of yielding material, and 3 is the handle.

The back or bristle-containing portion of the brush may be made of any well-known material and of any desired shape, and the bristles maybe given any form or configuration desired and may be secured in the back in any well-known manner. The handle 3 may also be made from any well-known ma terial and in any desired form. The neck 2, by which I designate the connecting portion between the back 1 and the handle, is made from flexible materialsuch, for example, as 5 rubber-which may be given the desired form by molding or in any other well-known man ner. The precise length and shape of the neck 2 are not material to my invention so long as its size and shape are such as to permit the back 7 to yield relatively to the handle when pressure is applied. The material of the neck should have such a degree of resiliency as will cause the neck and handle to assume their normal position when the pressure which is applied to flex or bend the neck is removed. As will be obvious and as is shown inthe drawings, the ends of the neck portion 2 which join the back and handle, respectively, should preferably correspond in cross-sectional shape and 30 size to the proximate portions of the back and handle, so that the finish and appearance of the brush will not be impaired. The flexible neck should be securely joined or united to the hack and handle, and this may be done in 5 any well-known manner. In practice I have found that good results are obtained by the employment of a reinforcing piece of flexible material-such, for example, as a flat or round wire of spring-steel--which is shown at 4:. 9 This wire is beneficial in that by its use the degree of resiliency desired may be more readily attained, and it also serves as an aid to secure the parts together firmly and conveniently.

I prefer to use a piece of metal of somewhat v greater length than the neck and to pass it centrally through the neck portion lengthwise thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5,and insert the ends which project at either end of the neck portion into recesses or holes formed in the back and handle, respectively. The ends of the spring-piece 4 may be secured by cement or in any other suitable manner in the said recesses or sockets. By employing a springpiece which is flat or of ribbon shape the direction of flexure of the brush may be controlled and determined. The flat piece of spring metal is preferably placed with its flat sides parallel or substantially parallel -with the bristle-face of the brush, and the brush will then flex or yield in a plane at right angles to the flat face of the wire or strip 4 and longitudinally thereof. Byemploying a piece of spring metal of the proper size, flexibility, and resiliency the entire flexibility or yielding of the brush may result from and be controlled by the said wire or metal strip,in which case the part which I have designated 2 and called the neck of the brush will onlybe required to form a proper finish and covering for the flexible connecting Wire or strip 4, and the said neck 2 may in and of itself havelittle or no resiliency or spring, thereby permitting the employment of other than resilient materials in the construction of the neck 2. It will therefore be clear that without departing from the invention the neck, which I have designated 2, may be formed of yielding resilient material and may be employed without any resilient strip or Wire or similar device, or the reinforcing strip or wire of resilient material may be employed with a neck, also of yielding and resilient material as, for example, rubber or the yielding strip of metal or Wire may be entirely relied upon for the yielding or flexure of the brush relatively to the handle, as also for securing the back andhandle together, without employing a yielding covering of any kind for the resilient strip or wire.

, In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown modified forms of the neck 2, the form shown in Fig. 3 being provided at each end thereof with a projection 5, which is mortised into the proximate portions of the back and handle, the said projections 5 being received in recesses formed 7 in the said back and handle, as will be clear.

This method of joining the neck portion to the a back and handle is advantageous in many cases in that firmer and better joints are secured between these parts. In Fig. 4 the projections 5, which are shown in Fig. 3, are replaced by dovetailed projections 6, which are in the same manner set into corresponding recesses in the back and handle and serve to increase the firmness and strength of the union between the parts and to prevent the back and handle from being separated from the neck by strain applied lengthwise of the brush, which would tend to pull the parts thereof apart. As will be clear, the form of joint between the neck and the back or handle may be varied, as also the method of joining the parts in any well-known manner.

What I claim is 1. A tooth-brush having a back provided with bristles and also having between the back and handle thereof an interposed piece of flexible resilient material, to relieve the action of the bristles upon the teeth and gums of the user, for the purposes and substantially as described.

2. A tooth-brush comprising a back, a handle, and an intermediate neck of flexible resilient material, said neck having at the ends thereof projections which enter corresponding recesses in the back and handle, substantially as described.

3. Atooth-brush' having a back furnished with bristles and also having a flexible portion intermediate the back and handle thereof, to relieve the action of the bristles upon the teeth and gums of the user, said portion comprising a piece of yielding material and a reinforce of yielding resilient material, substantially as described.

4. A tooth-brush having a back furnished with bristles and also having a flexible portion intermediate the back and handle thereof, to relieve the action of the bristles upon the teeth and gums of the user, said portion comprisinga piece of yielding material, and a reinforce of yielding resilient material, said reinforce projecting beyond the yielding material and being secured at each end in the back and handle of the brush respectively, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 2d day of December, 1902.

JOHN A. YATES.

Vitnesses:

ALBERT W. FUNKHOUSER,- ALICE B. YATES. 

